Uninvited: Everyone Has Their Own Truth

By Vanessa Kaye

Who is there for you in your big moments? Immediate family, the love of your life, or your friends? Jacob Darren has worked his entire life to be the best soccer player, but when that dream falls apart, he has his best friend, Dani Gonzalez, to help him through it. During their freshman year at Wake Forest, Dani and Jake were inseparable. When he transferred to Elon, their friendship persevered with phone calls and emails, replacing TV watching and late night food runs.

At Elon, Jake found his team, his school, and the love of his life, even though he didnt know it immediately. Though attracted to Lindsay Russo, Jake had some growing up to do before he could be with her. Love would have to waithis career, partying, and being with wrong girls had to come first.

Meanwhile, the ninety-mile distance between Jake and Dani never stopped the friends from being there for each other. After college, they reunited at Florida State for graduate school where they both worked in sports. In Tallahassee, the duo added a third to their posseLuke, Jakes coworker and Danis crush. The best times often came out of the worst decisions. Together, they conquered drunken nights, heartbreaks, and anxiety of STD tests. In spite of the drama of youth, Jake, Dani, and Luke came out on top.

As the trio moved into true adulthood, Jake reconnected with Lindsay. As their romance budded, everyone important to Jakehis parents, sister, and Daniall believed he found the one. But after years of ostensibly having it alllooks, a dream job, loyal friends, and the love of his lifeJakes perfect life crumbled. If you ask Dani, she has no clue what happened, only that her happy world with Jake was over.

Jacob woke up on his wedding day anxious and excited to embark on a new journey with the love of his life. Could he really enjoy the biggest day of his life without his oldest and dearest friend there with him? What would his Dani-less future look like?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jan 3, 2017
• ISBN: 9781524650353

Vanessa Kaye

Vanessa Kaye was born in Medellin, Colombia, and moved to Naples, Florida, when she was six months old. She graduated from Wake Forest University in 2006 with a major in sociology and a minor in Spanish. At Wake, she was an equipment manager where she worked with the women’s basketball and field hockey teams. Vanessa later received a master’s degree in sport administration from Florida State University and her MBA from Florida International University. Vanessa is an only child and lives with her dog, Cappie, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Still an avid sports fan, she enjoys cheering on her fellow Demon Deacons in her spare time.

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© 2016 Vanessa Kaye. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/18/2016

ISBN: 978-1-5246-5036-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-5035-3 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

To My Demon Deacon Family,

I could not have done this without you!

I thank God for placing you in my life:

Allyson, Erin, Rox, Katie, Kristen, Heather,

Whitney and Patrick!

Chapter 1

I t’s the morning of my wedding day. Upon waking in the king size bed in this ocean front hotel suite, I wonder what my bride, Lindsay, is doing. It is 8:00 a.m. and all I want to do is go back to sleep but I know my family will be here any moment. I have yet to decide if I want to hit the hotel gym just to break a sweat, but I guess that will be up to one of my groomsmen to convince me.

It has finally happened: I, Jacob Walter Darren, am getting married. Who would have thought?

I am 5'10" with an unimpressive frame. That may sound disparaging, but it’s just the matter of fact. I work with college student athletes and know I am, definitely, not in that great of shape. Still, I have done pretty well with the ladies even though I have an oval-shaped head with closely cropped curly dirty blonde hair and the smallest, straightest eyebrows. I am happy with who I am and especially with the woman who will be my bride today.

After I brush my teeth, I decide to text my bride. Cannot wait to be your husband. She will eat that up and have a clever response for me because she knows me well. Sure enough, she replies back: don’t put all your eggs in the basket yet, I still have time to change my mind.

Yes, she is mine. I met her at Elon University after I transferred from nearby Wake Forest after my freshman year. I was on the soccer team at Elon, which was great, but Lindsay was the best part of college. We met through our mutual friend, Megan. I went over to Megan’s house to pregame for a party in the fall of my junior year. She had just moved in with Lindsay.

It was a breezy Saturday night in October and I was at Megan and Lindsay’s apartment with three of my teammates. The group of us drank beers and listened to music in the kitchen. I was dancing and this girl said, That move should have been left in 1999. Everyone pointed and laughed. I looked at this beautiful light brown hair with smoldering hazel eyes and a slender figure. I remember thinking, this girl is trouble. I would not change that initial meeting or our relationship thereafter for anything.

Elon was a typical Southern university. It had a population of 2,500 students and was filled with privilege. Every student had a luxury car and money to spend. Every building on campus was red brick with high ceilings and surrounded by manicured green grass all year round. When you were running late to class, it felt like you were sprinting across a football field.

Lindsay and I loved every minute at Elon. We were not included with the privileged students’ experience, but we made it our own. At the time, we were simply acquaintances but we were setting the stage for a real connection.

There’s nothing I would be change about my bride, but there are some details I’d change about today. For starters, if it were up to me, I would not have elected to be married in the middle of July in Florida. In addition to the heat, this is one of the most expensive times of year to have a wedding. I would have preferred February, when it’s cooler, cheaper and my work schedule is less busy. A reminder (in case you’ve forgotten): I am the groom and I had